Minneapolis is making crime information more current and easy to access.
A new crime-tracking map that police are making available gives users daily updates and alerts on their computers or smartphones, a significant improvement from static maps plotting crime locations previously posted each week on the city website.
Police hope that in addition to giving people a more up-to-date way to check on crime in their neighborhoods, the new map could also help fight crime by making people more aware of what's going on around them.
"We're hoping this isn't just an informational tool for the public, but that this helps us solve crime," Cmdr. Scott Gerlicher said.
The map shows the date, time and location of each crime, and the information appears within a day of the event. The map also includes crime data going back three years and allows users to submit anonymous tips.
Hot spots and holes
Neighborhood crime watch advocate Shelley Leeson said she was happy that the new tool has become available.
"It's about time they did SOMETHING that gives us crime info in a more timely manner," she wrote in an e-mail.
Leeson said she would like to see the city put police reports online, too. That would add names, exact addresses and a brief description of crimes to the information available now.